Eat this, Not that! Have a Winner Dinner!

Hey College Calorie Counters,
Welcome to part 3 of my Eat this, Not that series. Today's entry will be about how to have a dinner that keeps you #winning more than Charlie Sheen!


Dinner and Lunch have some major similarities for me, and my daily dinner often depends on what I had for lunch. My major advice is to choose your carbs wisely. For instance, if you had a chicken wrap for lunch or a nice baguette alongside your salmon salad, then skip on the grains during dinner. But if not, then enjoy a nice carby side with your dinner--but not too much, try to keep it to one serving. Also, if when you can keep your carbs whole-y. Brown rice FTW!!


Speaking of rice, one of my favorite dinners ever is SUSHI. Whenever I'm going out with my friends or ordering in late night, sushi is always my pick. It happens to be one of my favorite foods, but it's also trendy and everywhere. Going out for pizza or Thai food is never easy, because Fettucine Alfredo and Pad Thai are so frigggggin' delicious for a reason. As my mamma always says, fat adds flavor. Sushi is the exception to that rule! 


When out to sushi, always start with an order of edamame. Dip those bad boys in soy sauce and you have an amazing low-cal appetizer! If it's been a heavy carb day by the time you get your Japanese jam on, stick to sashimi and yummy protein filled dishes like Tuna Tataki. Miso soup is never a bad call either.

Speaking of soup, I  LOVE SOUP! Soup is always a great way to fill up at the beginning of a dinner, but remember the Golden Rule of Soup (it's a real thing...I promise...): Keep away from the creamy and the cheesy. French Onion and Broccoli Cheddar=bad. Minestrone, non-creamy tomato, black bean soup=THE BEST EVER.

Another tip: abandon the bread. When you're out to dinner, explicitly ask the waiter not to bring your table bread. If your out with friends and they protest your bread strike, explain to them that you think you should save room for the main course, or if your comfortable with these folks, flat out tell them that you're watching your carbs. If they still insist on having bread, stay strong! Chug your water, or order a starter salad or a diet soda.  Bread at restaurants is often a disappointment, anyway. I've had too many lukewarm semi-stale rolls to think that eatery bread is "worth it" anymore.

Keep it fresh and healthy, yall! See you guys tomorrow for my late night eats and drinks section!
:)

Eat this, Not that! Lunchtime!!!

Lunch is probably the meal I eat most consistently. Breakfast is always in flux, and dinner is always a mess between my night classes and weekend nights out, but lunch is pretty much always set in stone. And thus, I feel some of my best tips can go towards mid-afternoon munchtime. 


Tip Numero Uno: SALAD! All day, urryday. Eating salad everyday for lunch is probably the biggest adjustment I made to my diet when I started losing weight. I've always liked eating salad, but now much like the greek yogurt obsession I talked about yesterday, I've just made it a daily staple. Even if I splurge and have a piece of pizza or a half a sandwich, I always make sure to have some salad too so I fill up on the greens, not the grains. 


Tip #2: Go lean with protein. A midday meal needs to keep you going for a long time more, so be sure to have a lean protein with your meal. I'm a huge fan of turkey slices or salmon, chicken is good too. Try to stay away from the classic tuna or chicken salad--too much mayo adds a ton of fat to your meal.

Tip #3: A fun 100-130 cal snack alongside your salad! When you're just eating salad, your meal looks a little sad and lonely, and that's no fun. One of my faves is Pop Chips. The personal sized bags are only 100 delicious calories, and with awesome flavors like Sour Cream and Onion and BBQ you get a throwback to the elementary school Lay's potato chip bags for way fewer calories.

Tip Four: FRUIT!!! Just ended my lunch with a crunchy apple, and as a recovering sourcandyholic, the sour flavor really does the trick for me. And it does sort of keep the doctor away, so I can't really complain.
Enjoy, and munch up! Off to my afternoon workout, y'all!
:)

Eat this, not that: College Edition Pt. 1

College is just about the most fun place in the world, and that's a fact. There is too much fun to be had just about every single day of the year at any college. Sometimes, we all get so wrapped up in the fun that we forget we're actually here to "study" and "get an education." Too much fun can be pretty harmful, and not just to our grades and livers. In college, where there is fun, there is usually calories. And thus, I bring you the College Calorie Counter's guide to eating right. This is going to be an exciting four part series which will feature entries on  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Snacks and Late Night Eating and Drinking!

EAT THIS NOT THAT: Pt. 1.

BREAKFAST. 

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, after all. I've never been a big breakfast person myself, but one trick I'm using to lose weight is making sure I get something in my stomach on the way to my first morning class (even if it is at 11AM). That way, I'm a lot less hungry at lunch, and therefore less likely to overload on the carbs that infest college food establishments like the plague.

My breakfast staple: Greek Yogurt. When my weight loss coach told me about the magic that is Greek Yogurt, I didn't believe her. I was never a huge yogurt eater (other than that of the frozen variety), but when she assured me that it was delicious, protein-packed and only 140 calories, I knew I had to give it a try. 

Now I must admit, all it took was one Chobani and I was hooked. They're just so darn good! My personal favorite flavor is peach, but I like to switch it up. It comes in other yummy flavors like raspberry, pomegranate, and blueberry! I could (and pretty much do) eat Greek Yogurt every day--if not multiple times a day. 

When I actually roll out of bed in time to eat a full morning meal, my absolute favorite breakfast is an egg white omelet. Omelets are pretty much a dining hall staple and at my school they offer egg whites and egg beaters every day at the omelet bar, so that's pretty fantastic and a great way to keep it healthy. The fatal way to bring an omelet from healthy to heavy is none other than cheese. It's rough to stay away from, so either go light on the cheese or douse your omelet in calorie free hot sauce and pretend like cheese doesn't exist. That's what I try to do, anyway.

Another College Calorie Counter staple is none other than caffine. I pass my personal sanctuary also known as Starbucks on my way to class everyday, and not a day goes by where I don't drop in. It would be kind of rude for me to ditch my own personal messiah, no?

Starbucks has this fabulous light menu that I highly recommend checking out if you haven't already. Basically, it's those super tempting indulgent sweet treat drinks like mocha lattes and frapuccinos that I once thought were simply too high-cal to touch, but Starbucks has lite versions for 140 calories or less! My personal faves are the Lite Caramel Macchiato  and the Lite Caramel Macchiato.

Hope this was helpful, have a bright, lite morning readers! See you tomorrow for Part 2: The Lunch Munch

:) 

Victory in Purple Shorts form.

I have always tried to be fashionable no matter how much I may weigh. One of the best pieces advices my mother ever gave me was to dress my best regardless of the size number on the label. Often this has meant taken off the large because it was too tight, and exchanging it for the dreaded "XL." I also grew up in a pretty materialistic environment, and fashion has always been something my friends and I have taken a lot of joy in, so I always tried to wear trendy brands and shop at cool stores while creating my own style (even if my body didn't look exactly how I wanted it to in those high-waisted shorts.)

One of my favorite stores for the last few years has been American Apparel. The bright colors and cool styles have always made me happy. As a short, overweight woman, this is an interesting choice. I don't know if you've ever seen an American Apparel model, but they bring a new meaning to being "model thin." These girls are the type of thin that I couldn't ever even aspire to be, because my body simply isn't capable. I wouldn't even want to look like most of them--with the exception of their wardrobe, of course.

There was always this pair of shorts at American Apparel that I wanted but just knew I could never fit into. The largest size at the store was a 30, and everywhere else usually carries at least a 32. I wanted to fit in these shorts so badly, but there was simply no way.

Now, 30 pounds later, everything has changed. I am not quite thin, but I'm a lot friggin' closer than I've ever been. I've thrown away a lot of my old clothing, because it either no longer fits me or is just too damn baggy to wear in public. My old leggings feel like sweatpants, my old jeans fly off of me, and my old tight sweaters are my new baggy sweaters. It's awesome. I'm in the process of rebuilding my wardrobe, and it's quite a daunting one. I don't want to buy an entirely new expensive wardrobe because my goal is to lose 20 more pounds by my 21st birthday in September, and with 20 more pounds off of me I will be wearing all sorts of smaller sizes and different styles I never thought I could have. I also don't want to wear my old baggy clothes; I want to throw them all away and be out with the old and in with the new.

Today, I walked into American Apparel in search of new leggings. I tried them on, and then took a lap around the store to see if there was anything else of interest. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a pair of size 30 purple shorts staring at me. I tried them on, and low and behold they fit--they were a little big, even! I decided not to buy them, because it's not quite shorts weather here in the northeast, and won't be for a little while, so I decided to wait in case by May or June I need them in a smaller size.

Keep your head up, and the hard work will pay off. I promise!

Writing it All Down

One important trick to weight loss is writing down everything you eat. If you sneak a candy from the bin at the convenience store, that counts. If you take a bite of someone else's Chinese food, that counts. This is one thing I have yet to conquer: writing EVERYTHING.

I try to write down all my thoughts and ideas in general, but for weight loss it can be super important because it ties into the overall theme that the only way to lose weight is to be honest with yourself. We all try to lie to ourselves about little things all the time, saying things aren't that bad or that we deserve them or even just choosing to ignore our actions altogether. I for one, always sneak a Sour Patch Kid or two from the bulk candy bin at my campus convenience. If I can get to the point where I write everything I eat down, I think I will conquer my next big weight loss hurdle, because to a certain extent, weight loss is about discipline, and I am not used to having a ton of self discipline. Writing down your food gives a new level of discipline: surveillance. If you admit to your Blackberry note or your little notebook that you did indeed have a Dum Dum lollipop or 3 while waiting to get your nails done, at the end of the day when you look over your food, you'll probably think "damnit! I didn't need that lollipop."

I'm gonna go grab my notebook :)

Motivation.

This is the first time I have ever lost weight successfully. Tonight, I was talking with a close friend about why and how this is my time, and the fact of the matter is I don't know why this is the time, but it is. Now is my moment to shine. I was overweight for 20 years of my life, and now it's time to start the 21st off right. I turn 21 in the fall, and this year is going to begin with a new me. I have lost 23 pounds so far, the goal was to be down 25 by late April when I go back to my hometown for a weekend, and that's seven weeks away. I'm going for 30 by the time I get on that plane now. Why? Because I can! I really believe in myself for the first time in my life. I've lost 23 pounds, I'm looking to lose 50 in total. I'm always halfway there! At this point, there's no giving up. I've run almost half the race! I can't give up now. It will NEVER be easy, but it will ALWAYS be worth it. Just need to keep making good decisions, and going to bed feeling confident. I look in the mirror every morning, and like what I see even if it isn't perfect, and at the end of the day, that's super important. I don't feel perfect everyday, but the thing about losing weight is if you don't feel great, you know that at the end of the day if you eat well and exercise, you will feel great SOON. That's what gets me through those rough days, I hope it's helpful for you guys too.
Off to bed, I need to be at the gym in 7.5 hours :).

The Gym

Hitting the gym is one of the most obvious but important parts of weight loss in general, and of my personal weight loss journey. I have an hourlong routine that i've been sticking to, and it always leaves me feeling great and accomplished. I do a half an hour on the elliptical, then 10-15 minutes on the treadmill, then i spend the last 15-20 minutes on the ball doing abs, stretching, and working with weights.